The Hunter
by Crazy Book Chick777
Summary: Bella has a memory of a dream, then when she goes out hunting the next day, a mysterious stranger comes to visit. Please R&R! XD


I am worn out. After a long day of taking care of Renesmee (with Jacob's help of course, he is always around her), lying here with Edward, in this warm, cozy bed is complete paradise. The faint honey lilac smell wafting off him is like my own special perfume. I didn't want to be anywhere else but here, curled up in his arms. I looked at the new fancy ornate watch on my wrist.(A gift from Alice, to celebrate what would have been my 20th birthday.) Three o' clock a.m. I grinned. It still felt weird not having to sleep, or even breathe. Being a vampire was definently going to take some getting used to. Edward sat up.

"What?" he asked, smiling.

"No", I said, stubbornly.

"What?" he asked again.

"Keep on holding me" I said.

Edward laughed. He pulled me into a gentle hug, as if I was still human. I held him tighter, showing him that it was okay, that I was one of him now, that he couldn't hurt me anymore. He hesitated. Then he gave in. He pulled me tighter, and I exploded with joy again. I pulled him into a kiss. Then slowly, I started undoing the buttons on his shirt, afraid that he might change his mind, that I would have to stop. But he let me. So I went farther and farther. I undid myself very quickly. His fingers played with my hair, lovingly caressing it. We kissed again, then I pulled him under the covers.

--- --- --- --- --- --- --- ---

After some time, we resurfaced. There was several moments of awkward silence, then he spoke.

"So," he said, changing the subject again. "What were you thinking about just now?"

"My introduction to the vampire world" I said. "It's definently going to take some time getting used to."

I saw pain flash in his golden eyes for a brief second, as if he had caused me pain by changing me.

"But, I'm sure I'll get used to it, I can handle it" I said hastily.

He still looked unsure.

"It's fine, I belong with you, like this, not as a human" I said, reassuring him.

He held me close and we lay back down. All was still again. I was staring at the ceiling when, a memory from the back of my head drifted to my attention. It was a dream. Or rather, a memory of a dream. It had to be from my human past. I closed my eyes and concentrated on the image.

_I am standing in a clearing in a middle of a forest. I am completely alone as far as I can see. But I hear a voice, and I can't tell where it is coming from. It sounds like a child's voice. Then a little girl steps out of the clearing. She looks three or four years old. "Mother?" "Mother, where are you?" I want to comfort her, to tell her that her mother will come, but it is as is there is a wall between us. I can see and hear her but she can't see or hear me. The little girl starts to cry. Suddenly a black hooded figure reaches out of the shadows and grabs the child. "Let me go!" she screams. "Let me go!" I try to reach forward and help her but my feet can't move. I can do nothing but watch the horror laid out in front of me. I can't see the attacker's face but his eyes penetrate the forest gloom. They are blood-red. The girl screams again and then the scene shifts. Suddenly I'm in a dungeon. Flaming torches make eerie shadows on the walls. At the far end of the room there is a stone platform, like the kind ancient tribes used to make human sacrifices. An uneasy feeling grows in my stomach. I force myself to go look at what is on the table. When I get there I almost faint. It is the little girl, her eyes are glazed over and drenched in her own blood. Her throat is slit open. Out of the corner of my eye I see the red-eyed man slink out of the shadows. He laughs devilishly as he gazes upon the body. He then starts advancing toward me, a particularly evil glint in his eyes. I look deeper into them and see images of other loved ones. Charlie, Jacob, Edward. "No!" I scream. He shows me the little girl and I scream again. Because she looks just like… _

I opened my eyes again and become wide-eyed and alert. Renesmee. I slip out of bed and start putting on my clothes. I dash down the hall to Renesmee's room. My new senses allowed me to not trip over things in the dark. I breathe a sigh of relief as I jump over to her bed and see her little sleeping body curled up under the sheets. I gently picked up her hand and put it against my cheek. Her dream filled my mind. At least _she_ wasn't having any nightmares or memories of nightmares. She was having peaceful dreams of butterflies and rainbows and…me. Yeah, there I was smiling down at her, and there I was laughing with Emmett. It almost made me choke up with tears. _I_ was a peaceful memory in her mind. _I_ was a happy thought. I kissed her gently on her forehead before quietly closing her door. When I got back, Edward was up.

"What happened?" he asked worriedly.

"Nothing, it was just a… I mean, I needed to walk around for a little bit, that all"

I got back into bed and he held me close. It seemed we had been doing that a lot tonight.

The next morning, I sat up with a strange feeling in my throat. It wasn't quite burning, but it was very annoying.

"Time to hunt", I mumbled.

I heard Edward chuckle beside me. He took his eyes from the ceiling to look at me and I found myself staring into them. They were pools of gold. When we got up and went into the living room, we found Renesmee reading a book next to the fireplace. When she saw us, she flashed a brilliant smile. "Hello, Renesmee" I said. The little girl ran up to me and touched my cheek. Images of fresh blood flashed across my eyes. My throat burned.

"Let's go" I said to Edward.

Once we finally got into the woods, I felt free. It felt so good to run,. It felt so good to hunt. To hear the blood running through the thick veins of my prey, to feel the weight of it in my hands, the sweet blood running through my mouth awakening my senses…I looked up sharply from the dead stag in front of me, scanning the horizon. I felt another presence here, someone other than her small little family. It was moving slowly but stealthily, like someone who did not want to be seen or heard. Like a _hunter_. I was immediately alert. It was making a wide circle around them. I turned to Renesmee. She was farther away, finishing off a fawn, Edward watching over her proudly. They were silent for now. That was good. If the hunter wasn't circling us, which I doubt, there was no need to make our presence known to him. I listened again for his footsteps. It was definitely human… or was it?

A gust of wind brought his smell to me. I could just catch his smell. With growing uneasiness, I sprinted toward the awful smell. All of a sudden, the footfalls ceased. I stopped too. '_Where is he now?'_ I thought. Too soon I realized that everything in the forest was silent. No birds were chirping. No small little animals were crunching their way through the fallen leaves and twigs under me. Dead silent. The uneasy feeling in my stomach doubled. I started to head back when a cloaked figure slunk out of the trees. His eyes were as red as blood. He started laughing softly. I tried to run, but I found I couldn't, my legs were frozen with fear. I opened my mouth to scream…


End file.
